why a shallow or medium

15 years ago

We are ready to add another honey super, and my bee mentor/supplier gave us a shallow. Why would one choose a shallow over a medium or vice versa, besides a shallow being lighter? I remember reading that for lighter could be adventageous for older or perhaps smaller beekeepers.I thought that was interesting.

While we were at her shop, and she was closing up, she brought out a bottle of honey liqueur, and we started drinking...I mean sipping. It was the best liqueur I've ever tasted, nowhere as sweet as I imagined and less sweet than any fruit or Brandy or B &B, We got pretty silly, and she and my husband started singing broadway hits. Me, I just kept pouring and sipping.

Beekeepers are such happy people. To Life!

PS I did have a small hangover the next morning. It was worth it.

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Comments (5)

Marie Tulin
Original Author
15 years ago
I did a little research and found there is no functional difference between using a shallow and medium super
txbeeguy
15 years ago
"honey liqueur..."
Welcome to the world of mead(!)... or honey wine.

"nowhere as sweet as I imagined..."
Without going into all the details, how dry or sweet it is, is determined primarily by how much honey is used and the type of yeast used to produce the fermentation.

"I did have a small hangover..."
Yep... Beowulf...mead halls...Danish...600 A.D... hangovers... they've ALL been around awhile... !
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steveintn
15 years ago
The big difference is weight.

There's an ol' saying: "If a beekeeper doesn't have a bad back yet, don't worry, he will have."

I just harvested today. I can tell you there is a big difference in weight between a full shallow, a full medium and a hive body full of honey. It's about 30 pounds, 45 pounds and 90 pounds.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make Mead on Google
cpp6318
15 years ago
I've gotten more into pollination than honey production and I've been growing fast for the past two years. I can use one strong hive to fill quite a few shallows and then put those shallows on a nuc to overwinter. That gives me alot more use out of the same amount of honey.
thomashton
15 years ago
Weight. Weight. Weight. And, simplicity.

I ONLY use mediums. Mediums for everything. Brood boxes and supers. That way I can interchange honey or brood up or down in a hive or from one hive to another. Everything is the same size in every hive. I only have to buy one size box, one size frame, and one size of foundation. Simple.

As has been said, a full box of honey in a medium is considerably lighter than a deep. A shallow just seems not worth it. Mediums are the way to go.